The Great Gatsby (浅谈美国文学经典：了不起的盖茨比 英文篇）
2016-01-29 11:28阅读：
Set in the
“Jazz
Age” of the
roaring 1920s, this
book—“The Great
Gatsby” is a
classical novel which is a
real map of
American’s society
at that time, it unravels
a brilliant but flashy American
dream to us. It is also
a portrayal of the
author’s whole
life.
The author-- F. Scott
Fitzgerald was the leader
of the Jazz Age and one
of the best American writers
of the 20th century. Obviously,
his life
br>would not leave of the
background of that age—hedonism
age. After the First World
War was over, as well as
until the Great Depression came,
the hedonism began to prevail
in America. As a“spokesman
of the ’Jazz
Age’”, F. Scott
Fitzgerald called the age as
“a squander and
ironical time”. At
that time, every night in
New York was a world of
bright lights and every people
of upper-class was fell in
enjoyment, F. Scott Fitzgerald
and his wife
—Zelda were active
at that kind of society.
As he also threw himself
into the atmosphere, he deeply
felt the requirement of that
time about romantic, as well
as the emptiness in reality
which under the luxurious
surface. So, he showed them
in his works which always
made the eager of young
and idealism as the theme,
because he thought they were
the characteristic of American.
However, in his works, we
can also usually see changeful
emotions especially the sense of
loss, I think maybe this
is the fade of people
which cannot escape at that
time.
I talked too much about
the author, as in my
opinion, Mr. Gatsby in this
novel was just made as a
representative of that age and
the best show of
people’s characteristic
from F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Therefore, in one sense, Mr.
Gatsby is a portrayal of
the author and maybe this
is the reason of the
birth of Mr. Gatsby.
The story is told in the
first person by Nick Caraway,
a quiet young Midwesterner.
In1922, Nick leaves home to
do business in New York
City. He rents a small
house in West Egg and
next door to his house is
the enormous house of Mr.
Gatsby. One evening, Nick dines
with a distant cousin, Daisy
and gets to know her
husband Tom and Jordan Baker,
an attractive young golfer. Nick
is invited to one of
Gatsby’s parties and learns that
Daisy and Gatsby were in
love before. The reunion takes
place and Nick has become
involved with Jordon Baker. Tom
later finds that his wife
is in love with Gatsby
and makes a conspiracy to
have Gatsby killed.
Although the content of this
story might be common, the
change of Mr.
Gatsby’s fade
prompted readers to
deep thought. He is just
like American’s
society at that time, he
dreamed beautiful but could not
make it become reality. As
far as I am concerned,
the key word
“great”
from “The
Great Gatsby” show
a mean of satire but not
praise. But in fact, I
think Mr. Gatsby is admirable
in some ways as he could
believe his own dream until
the end of live. He hoped
a world which was
so colorful
that no word could
describe and his
“Platonic”
idea was just a
representative of
“Platonic
Love” at that
time and Daisy was also
the representative of his
idea.
The end of the story, Nike
witnessed and deeply hated the
fickle of human, so he
went his hometown with a
tragedy mood. He did leave
that noisy and cool city,
but the shadow in his
heart will never leave him.
Gatsby died, he
didn’t get his
ideal love, but he also
didn’t forget the
green light which was swaying
on the other side of the
wharf. He called
Daisy’s name and
he still didn’t
give up his love or dream
at the last minute of
life. He soaked himself in
fantasy like that
American’s
society.
Just like the author said
in the last
paragraph:” Gatsby
believed in the great light,
the orgiastic future
that year by year recedes
before us. It eluded us
then, but that’s
no matter—tomorrow
we will run faster, stretch
out our arms
farther… and one
fine morning. So we beat
on, boats against the current,
borne back ceaselessly into the
past.
